JPS63143552A - Method and device for drying disk film - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To dry a disk film speedily and to prevent the disk film from curling or having drying stains by dividing a drying process into a front and a rear stage, and holding drying temperature lower in the rear stage than in the front stage. CONSTITUTION:A drying device for the disk film is so formed that when the releasing of a cartridge is completed, heat air is supplied by a blower 90 to the disk film 10 through a guide path 91 and the disk film 10 is dried while being rotated. When the disk film is dried, the hot air of relatively high temperature, e.g. 50-90 deg.C is supplied to elevate the temperature remaining processing liquid and accelerate vaporization, and the disk film is dried in the ending period at 5-60 deg.C, preferably, almost at room temperature. Further, the drying process is divided into the front stage and rear stage, whose drying temperature may be about 10 deg.C lower than that of the front stage. Consequently, such a defect in processing that the disk film curls or has drying stains is prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for drying a disc film,
More specifically, this is an automatic developing machine that can be placed at the front of relatively small stores such as DPE distributors and camera stores, and allows processed disc film to be processed while it is still stored in the cartridge. The present invention relates to a disc film drying method and apparatus that are optimal for. It should be noted that the present invention is applicable not only to the above-mentioned type of small-sized automatic developing machine but also to ordinary automatic developing machines for disk films.

Mizuhiki! II, disc film primarily refers to U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,212,673 and 4,264.
No. 169, JP-A-53-113525, JP-A No. 55-10
No. 1940, No. 55-1019'42, etc., and is generally referred to as a disc film and refers to a disc-shaped photographic material that is reprinted. This also applies to those that process information recording media other than those listed above.

[Background of the invention]

Conventionally, commercially available disc films were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4112
No. 453, U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,469 U.S. Pat.
88106, U.S. Patent No. 4208116, U.S. Patent No. 4248564, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 110829/1982, Kodakku Disk Film System Complete Guide (Photography Industry April 1982 issue, pages 26-41), etc. First, the cartridge is destroyed using a cartridge opener with a darkroom structure, and after taking out the photographed disc film, a large number of discs are transferred to a large automatic developing machine via a processing magazine. Color development, bleaching, fixing (or bleach-fixing), and washing (or stabilization) are performed, and these treatments are substantially carried out in a dark room as in the case of roll film.

Comparing the current state of DPE services using disk film with that of roll film, processing facilities are unevenly distributed due to differences in usage and popularity, and it has lagged behind the trend of rapid processing such as 60-minute finishing due to the spread of so-called minilabs. As a result, a dilemma has arisen in that the various advantages of disc films are diminished and the widespread use of disc films is hindered.

The present inventors have solved the above-mentioned dilemma and developed a photo processing system that satisfies the desire to view images as soon as they are taken, by developing a photographic film that has already been imaged and is stored in a cartridge. As a result of research and development of methods and devices for
1-21857-21883. Patent application 1981-23333
~23334, f31-70082.70084.7
9018 etc.

Among the above, the present inventors have proposed that after the water washing process (water washing alternative stabilization process) is completed, the disc film is removed from the cartridge and dried with warm air while rotating. According to the conventional method for drying disc films, in which the entire drying process is carried out at a constant temperature, a drying time of around 6 minutes is required. In order to enable time processing, high temperatures must be made;
It was found that curling and dry stains on the back surface were likely to occur.

Furthermore, automatic developing machines for disk films are known that dry the first stage with cold air and the second stage with hot air, but these machines cannot be applied to short-time processing.

It has been found that curling and dry explosion stains tend to occur especially when the latter stage of drying is carried out at high temperatures.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been created in view of the above.1 The main purpose of the present invention is to clarify a novel drying method and device that enables quick drying and is less likely to cause curls or dry stains on the disc film. Furthermore, the present invention is small in size so that it can be placed in the storefront of relatively small-scale stores such as DPE distributors and camera stores, and does not require special skills for the operator who develops the disc film. It is a small size for disc film that can quickly and reliably perform stable processing with good performance, and also allows the processing requester and his companions to enjoy the waiting time without getting bored. The purpose of this invention is to clarify a disk film drying method and apparatus that are most suitable for application to an automatic processor, and other objects and benefits of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings. This is the result.

[Means for solving problems]

The above object of the present invention is to provide a method for drying a disc film, which is characterized in that the drying process is divided into at least a first stage and a second stage, and the drying temperature in the second stage is lower than that in the first stage, and a disc removed from a cartridge. means for holding the film; means for rotating the disc film;
A hot air supply means consisting of a heater and a blower, a control means, and the control means has a drying means that includes a control system that divides the drying process and switches the temperature of the heater in the divided processes. This is achieved by an automatic processor for disc film.

〔Example〕

Figures 1 to 4 show an automatic developing machine for disc films to which the disc film drying method and apparatus of the present invention are applied. The present invention will be explained according to the process or procedure for processing a disc film.

A. Setting the disc film unit The disc film unit you are trying to process is the cartridge 1.
2 is set in the applicator 20 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 without performing any physical or chemical treatment in advance.

As shown in the figure, in the applicator 20, a fixing means 22 consisting of a pressing rod biased by a spring is attached to the base of a base body 21, and fixes both corners 13.13 of the exposure window side plate of the cartridge 12 to the lower surface of the tip. A support section 23 is provided. Therefore, if the pressing rod of the fixing means 22 is first pulled out and the tip is engaged with the support portion 23 as shown by the imaginary line, then the pressing rod is returned to its original position. It is fixed to the applicator 20.

B. Setting the applicator The applicator 20 to which the disc film unit is fixed is set to the original a30 as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
When it is placed at a predetermined position on the conveyor table member 40 that is protruding from the inside, preparations for starting the process are completed, and the process is started by turning on the start button.

When the start button is turned on, the base member 40 is first drawn into a predetermined position inside the self-portrait a30 by the rotation of the feed roller 42 driven by the motor 41.

At this time, M31, which is biased by the spring, also returns to its original state, and the space where the processing is performed is shielded.

When the transport table member 40 is completely retracted and stopped at a predetermined position, the rod 50 for rotating the disk film 10 is lowered by the movement of the cam 51 and the operating arm 52 driven by the motor 42, and the tip of the rod 50 is Chuck mechanism 53
cam 51 . driven by motor 42 . Through the central opening 14 in the disc film unit by movement of the operating arm 54, it is engaged with the core of the disc film 10. When the chuck is completed, the rod 50
is raised and the disc film unit and applicator 20 are stopped at a predetermined position. Next, the arms 61 and 62 of the fixing means 60 are rotated about the shaft in a direction in which the tips approach each other, and both sides of the applicator 20 are fixed.

In this state, even if the chuck mechanism 53 is released by raising or lowering the rod 54, the disc film unit will not fall because it is fixed to the applicator 20.

Note that when the disk film unit is completely set at the processing position, the conveyance table member 40 is retreated to the deepest position and is in a standby state until the drying process is completed.

The C8 processing liquid supply disk film unit is fixed to the fixing means 60 via the applicator 20, and with the central core of the disk film 10 engaged with the chuck mechanism 53 at the tip of the rod 50, the disk film unit is placed inside the disk film unit. A processing liquid is injected, and development processing is performed while rotating the disk film 10 by a disk film 10 rotation mechanism, which will be described later.

In the illustrated apparatus, when the disk film unit is lifted to a predetermined height by the rise of the rod 50,
The distal end of a guide tube 70 for injecting a processing liquid is configured to engage with a bottle hole 15 (see FIG. 1) for operating a light-shielding plate provided on the side plate of the exposure window of the cartridge 12.

The tip of the guide tube 70 is formed into a tapered shape, and a portion of the tip is inserted into the pin hole 15 and engaged with the pin hole 15 in a state where it is completely blocked.

A processing liquid guide tube 70 is fixed to the base 33 of the automatic processing machine, and a receiving portion 71 is prepared at the base end.In the apparatus shown in FIG. Since the treatment liquid container 72 is used for supply, the receiving portion 71 is provided with a recess corresponding to the shape of the tip of the treatment liquid container 72.

A processing container 72 is prepared for each processing liquid, and is set in advance in the opening 74 of the turntable 73 in the order of processing.

The turntable 73 is fixed to the base 33 via a shaft 75 and a bearing 76, and the amount of zero rotation of the turntable 73 by 45 degrees varies depending on the composition of the processing liquid (the number of containers 72) and is not limited to 45 degrees.

Further, the turntable 73 is always held up at a constant height by a spring, and the processing liquid container 7
2 and the receiving portion 71 are maintained in a state in which they do not engage with each other.

The turntable 73 is rotated, and first, the tip (spout) of the processing solution container 72 containing the color development processing solution is opened.
When the position of the guide tube 70 above the receiving portion 71 is detected by a positioning means (not shown), the rotation of the turntable 73 is stopped. When the suppressor 78 is lowered, the rear end of the processing liquid container 72 is pushed downward, and the entire turntable 73 is pushed down against the spring pressure (as described above, In a configuration in which the processing liquid container 72 is not pushed down, the entire processing liquid container 72 is pushed down against the spring pressure), and the distal end of the processing liquid container 72 comes into engagement with the receiving portion 71 of the guide tube 70 . In addition, the turntable 73
The lowering of the processing liquid container 72 may be performed directly by a member interlocking with the pressing rod 78 or a completely separate member, instead of by pressing down the processing liquid container 72 by the pressing rod 78. Alternatively, a lenoid may be used to push it down.

When the pressing rod 78 is further lowered with the tip of the processing liquid container 72 engaged with the receiving portion 71 of the guide tube 7o, the suppressing piston of the processing liquid container 72 is lowered, and the stored color developing process is lowered. Liquid is released and injected into the cartridge 12 through the guide tube 70.

In the illustrated apparatus, the amount of processing liquid stored in the processing liquid container 72 is the amount necessary to process 10.1 disc films, and as described above, the processing liquid from the previous process is used for the next time. In the case of a method of forcibly discharging processing liquid by injecting it, the amount of liquid required for discharging increases.

Development processing is performed through the steps described above, and although the composition of the processing solution is not a limiting factor, it is preferable to perform the processing by a so-called waterless washing method using a washing substitute stabilizing solution.

The used processing liquid (waste liquid) is guided and stored in a waste liquid container 79 by gravity, and when a certain amount has accumulated, it is transferred to a separately prepared waste liquid tank and stocked.

D. When the disk film rotation processing liquid is supplied into the cartridge 12, the motor 4
The rod 50 is rotated using the rod 4 as a driving source, and the disc film 10 in the engaged state is rotated by the chuck mechanism 53 at its tip.

The rotation of the disk film 10 is performed for the purpose of speeding up the development process, making the process homogeneous, and improving the process performance, and the speed of one rotation is 2 rpm to 200 rpm.
It is preferably in the range of rp■.

When rotating the disk film 10, it is preferable to rotate the cartridge 12 in the same position while slightly lowering the rod 50 and pushing down the chucked disk film 10.

E. Releasing the Cartridge When the processing steps of supplying the processing liquid and rotating the disk film 10 are completed, the cartridge 12 is released.

To release the cartridge 12, first push the suppression rod 80 for releasing the cartridge 12, which is inserted through the openings 16 (see FIG. 1) provided at both corners 13-13 of the exposure side plate of the cartridge 12. The cartridge end is nicked by pressure. The pressing rod 80 is lowered and raised by rotating the operating rod 81.

When the ends of the cartridge are cut off, the cutter blade 82 enters the gap in the direction of the arrow, cutting off the joints on both sides of the cartridge.

In order to reciprocate the cutter blade 82, at least both sides of the base on which the cutter blade 82 is attached are engaged with the guide rail, and a screw placed in the base is rotated by a motor, so that the cutter blade 82 is moved along the guide rail. A mechanism is used in which the base/cutter blade 82 is advanced linearly and retreated by reverse rotation of the screw.

Now, as the cutter blade 82 moves in the direction of the arrow,
The cartridge 12 is released into a so-called open state without cutting off the base side joint where the exposure window is located, and the lower plate of the cartridge is brought into a sagging state. In order to ensure this kind of operation, the tip of the cutter blade 82 (
Instead of making the cutter blade 82 have a large acute angle, at least a part of it is used as a member for pushing out the lower plate of the cartridge in the opening direction, or a push-out pin that operates following the movement of the cutter blade 82 is prepared.

Even when the cartridge is released, the disc film 10 is held by the chuck mechanism 53 of the rod 50.
A horizontal state is maintained in a predetermined position.

F. Drying When the release of the cartridge is completed or in parallel with the progress of release, heated air is supplied by the blower 90 to the disc film 10 through the guide path 91, and drying is preferably carried out while rotating the disc film IO. It will be done.

During drying, since it is initially wet with the remaining processing liquid, hot air at a relatively high temperature, for example, 50°C to 90°C, is supplied to increase the temperature of the remaining processing liquid and promote evaporation. Next, the temperature is lowered to 5° C. to 60° C., and preferably, in the final stage, drying is performed at 5° C. to 60° C., preferably around room temperature. It is also preferable to separate the drying process into a first stage and a second stage, with the drying temperature in the second stage being about 101 or more lower than the drying temperature in the first stage.

Drying by lowering the temperature in two or several stages or in a gentle slope prevents processing defects that would result in curling, dry stains, etc. on the disk film 10 if it were dried at a high temperature. This is because speed drying (preferably within about 4 minutes) is possible, which is safer than performing complete drying at a relatively low temperature due to such risks.

In order to automatically carry out the drying as described above, a control system using, for example, a microcomputer is used, which measures time from the start of drying and lowers the temperature of the heater when a predetermined elapsed time has elapsed. To switch the heater temperature, turn on or off all or part of the multiple heaters.
or by switching the power supply voltage.

In the illustrated apparatus, as will be described later, a disk film 1
Since the disk film 10 and the cartridge are configured to be ejected separately, if only the disk film 10 is dried,
The drying process is completed even if the cartridge is wet. Of course, this does not exclude embodiments in which the disc film 10 and the cartridge are ejected at the same time, and in such embodiments, the cartridge (and the applicator 2
0) is also carried out.

In addition, it is preferable to perform rotation in the drying process and the draining process at the stage of transitioning to the drying process, and the draining process is performed at a rate of 1100 Qr.
p or more is preferable, more preferably 1500 to 50QO
rpm, more preferably 2000 to 4000 rpm
It is m. The rotation speed in the drying step is preferably in a wide range of 2 to 5000 rpm, particularly preferably 30 to 3000 rpm.
pm, and it is preferable to make it the same as the number of rotations during processing or the number of rotations of a colander in order to make the mechanism cylindrical.

G. Discharge of the disc film When the drying process is completed, only the disc film 10 is dropped onto the conveyor table member 40 which has advanced below the disc film 10 and is in a standby state. The disc film IO is dropped by lowering the rod 50 or without lowering it, and by lowering or raising the rod 55 to release the chuck mechanism 53 in the same position. When the disc film 10 is dropped onto the feeder member 40, the feeder member 40 advances out of the automatic processor while tilting the i31 by the rotation of the feed roller 42, and moves to a certain position (at the beginning of the processing process). , the position where the applicator 20 was set).

In this state, the device waits for a certain period of time, during which time the disk film 10 is picked up, and the ejection of the disk film 1O is completed.

When the ejection disk film 10 of the H0 empty cartridge is completely picked up, the conveyor table member 40 retreats to the deepest position, the fixing means 60 is released, and the empty cartridge 12 is transferred to the applicator 20.
The object is dropped while being fixed to the object. The dropped cartridge 12 and applicator 20 can be easily taken out of the processor by opening the lid 31.

When the removal of the cartridge 12 and applicator 20 is completed, the carrier member 40 returns to its original position.

The door 31 is closed and the entire process is completed.

[Experiment example]

Experimental Example 1 A reprinted disk film manufactured by the applicant of the present application was used as a sample disk film, and was subjected to washing alternative stabilization treatment using the above-mentioned automatic processor. A drying experiment shown in the attached table was conducted while rotating the disk film at 200 rpra.

The following photographic processing solutions were used.

Color developer Potassium carbonate 30g Sodium sulfite 2.5g Diethylenetriaminepentavinegar@2. Og hydroxylamine sulfate! ! ! 2.
5g Sodium Bromide 1.3g Potassium Hydroxide 1. Add O,g4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N-(β-hydroxyethyl)aniline sulfate 0.015 mol water to make 1 fL, and adjust the pH to 1o, o with 50% sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide. did.

Bleach-fix solution diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid ferric complex salt (DTPA F
e III) 0.25EA ammonium sulfite 12 g ammonium thiosulfate 150 g 77 mo: -7 water (281)
The pH was adjusted to 141 with 10 ml of water, and the pH was adjusted to 7.0 with acetic acid and aqueous ammonia.

Tomosadashi Formalin (35%) 7 ml (q
H+o--0-(CH2CH20)10- H1,Om
Add l water to make one sentence.

1-Hydroxyethylidene-1,1-niphosphonic acid 2.0g Zinc sulfate heptahydrate 0.3g Ol: Sodium phenylphenol Ip 0.3g Make one sentence with water,
The pH was set to 7.5. pH adjustment was performed with 50% sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide.

Processing process Processing temperature Processing time Color development 38℃ 3 minutes 15 seconds Bleach fixing
38℃ 6 minutes water washing or washing alternative stable 30~3B'C! 4 minutes stabilized solution 30-38℃ 2 minutes' drying
As per Attached Table 1 Attachment 1 Drying temperature and time start 1 minute 2 minutes 3 minutes 4 minutes Al← t
o o 'c →←40℃→A2← 120℃→←
60℃→ A3← 90℃ →← 30℃ →A4←
70℃ →← 40℃ →A5←
90℃ →A6← 60℃
→A7← 30℃→Attachment 2 Drying temperature and time start 1 minute 2 minutes 3 minutes 4 minutes B1← 10
0℃ →←40℃→ B2←120℃→←60℃→ B3← 90℃ →← 30℃ →B4←
70℃ →← 40℃ →B 5←
906C→B 6←
60℃ →B 7←
30℃ Pass Attached Table 3 Drying condition Curl Dry stain A1 0 0 0 A2 0 0 0 A3 0 0 0 A4 0 0 0 A5 Δ Δ × A6 0 0 × A7 X ○ Δ (Note) O means good drying, no curling, dry Not dirty, Δ is a little dissatisfied,
X indicates defective.

Attachment 4 Dry condition Curl Dry stain BI OO○ B2 0 0 0 B3 Q ○ ○B4 0
0 0 B5 Δ Δ × B6 0 0 X B7 We were able to demonstrate that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of

In addition, the drying method of the present invention showed no difference between the stabilization treatment as an alternative to washing with water and the washing treatment with running water.

EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLE 1 An experiment was carried out in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1, except that the rotation speed and drying temperature of the disk film in the drying process were changed as follows.

Attachment 5 Start 20 seconds 40 seconds 60 seconds Cl ←2000rp+a +← 90℃
→← 75℃→C 2+-250Orpm + ←30rpm -+←
120℃→← 60℃ →C 34-300Orpm →4-50Orpm
+←80℃ →← 60℃ →C 44-250Orpm + 4-20Orpm
+←90℃ →← 70℃ →C 54-250Orpm+ +← 85
℃ → Attachment 6 Dry condition Curl Dry stain CI Q Q ○C2Q
Δ ○ C3000 C4000 C5Δ × × As a result of the above experiment, it can be seen from Appendix 5 that high speed rotation (2000 rpm or more) at the initial stage of drying is preferable in the present invention.

In addition, experiments were conducted with a high-speed rotational squeeze between the final treatment (stabilization treatment) and the drying step, and the rotational speeds of the C4 and C4 drying steps were 50 Orpm and 200 rpm, and the results were similar to those described above.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the method and apparatus for drying a disc film of the present invention, the disc film can be quickly dried without curling or drying stains, and the above-mentioned object can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a plan view of the applicator. Figure 2 is also a left side view, Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 1; FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the automatic processor. In the figure, each symbol indicates the following. lO: Disc film unit ll: Disc film 12: Cartridge 13: Corner of cartridge 14: Center opening of cartridge 15: Pin hole 16: Corner opening 20: Applicator 21: Applicator base 22: Fixing means 23: Support part 30: Automatic developing machine (Jigen 4i) 31: Lid 32: Covering body 33: Foundation 40: Transport platform member 41: Motor 42: Feed roller 43: Motor 44: Motor 50: Disc film rotation rod 51: Cam 52: Operation arm 53: Chuck mechanism 54: Rod for operating the chuck mechanism 60: Fixing means 61: Arm of fixing means 62: Arm of fixing means 70: Guide tube for injecting processing liquid 71: Receiving part 72: Processing liquid container 73: Turntable 74: Opening 75: Axis 76: Bearing 77: Axis 78: Pressure rod 79: Waste liquid container 80: Rod for cartridge release 81: Operation rod for cartridge release 822 cutter blade 90: Blower 91: Guidance route Patent applicant Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Nobuaki Sakaguchi 10: Disc film unit z3: Temperature Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A method for drying a disk film, characterized in that the drying step is divided into at least a first stage and a second stage, and the drying temperature in the second stage is lower than the drying temperature in the first stage. (2) The method for drying a disk film according to claim 1, wherein the drying temperature in the latter stage is at least 10° C. or lower than the drying temperature in the former stage. (3) The method for drying a disk film according to claim 1, wherein the drying temperature in the first stage is 50 to 90°C, and the drying temperature in the second stage is 5 to 60°C. (4) A method for drying a disc film according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that drying is carried out while rotating the disc film. (5) It consists of a means for holding the disc film taken out from the cartridge, a means for rotating the disc film, a hot air supply means consisting of a heater and a blower, and a control means, and the control means divides the drying process and divides the drying process. 1. An automatic developing machine for disk film, characterized in that it has a drying means that includes a control system for switching the temperature of a heater in the process of processing.